The already-strained ties between Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)​ and Shiv Sena plumetted to new lows on Saturday after the Uddhav Thackeray-led party hinted it would prefer to sit in the Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly than join the Devendra Fadnavis government, sources said.

New Delhi: The already-strained ties between Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)​ and Shiv Sena plumetted to new lows on Saturday after the Uddhav Thackeray-led party hinted it would prefer to sit in the Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly than join the Devendra Fadnavis government, sources said.

Thackeray had demanded that his party be inducted into Fadnavis government before it faces the trust vote on the floor of the Assembly, but his demand was not entertained by the BJP.

The ties between the former allies reached new lows on Saturday when Prime Minister Narendra Modi refused to meet Sena representative Anant Geete on the eve of the union cabinet reshuffle.

Geete, union minister and Sena's representative in Delhi, was called back to Mumbai by the party leadership after his attempts to meet Modi failed. He was called by Thackeray for consultations and there may not be any Sena representative at the swearing-in of the new ministers in Rashtrapati Bhavan on Sunday--neither to witness it nor for inclusion.

The late night developments followed after last-minute hurdles appeared to have cropped up over Sena representative's induction into the Union Council of Ministers.

A clear indication to this effect was given by Geete himself after his plans to meet Modi did not materialise. "I could not meet him," he said, while indicating that a last-minute hurdle has also surfaced over Sena representatives being inducted into Maharashtra cabinet.

Sena-BJP ties have been under strain after their oldest ideological alliance in Maharashtra collapsed ahead of the Assembly polls due to problems over seat-sharing.

Geete also said that no final decision has been taken on fresh induction from the party into the Union government.